Are You The One?

John 4:21-26
Jesus saith unto her, Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem , worship the Father.

Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews.

But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him.

God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.

The woman saith unto him, I know that Messias cometh, which is called Christ: when he is come, he will tell us all things.

Jesus saith unto her, I that speak unto thee am he.

Are You The One?

I pose the question today to know if you are one of the true worshippers of the Father. Are you one of the ones who worships in spirit and in truth?

In the passage above, we find Jesus talking with the Samaritan woman at the well. There was no reason for someone, anyone, to be at that well at noon. She went there to avoid people. We don’t know specifically why, but the scriptures give some pretty compelling circumstantial evidence.

Yet, Jesus asked for water from her, this Samaritan, this woman. He sought from her so He could give her everlasting waters. The scriptures document that she went on to evangelize the whole city. Jesus spent three days preaching and teaching there.

She knew her truth. He knew her truth. No one lied. No one even observed convention. It was just Jesus and this woman.

And this revelation…the time is now to worship in spirit and in truth.

It is an easy thing to focus on performing; focusing on the “how” of something other than the ‘why’. It’s easy sometimes to get caught up in the details of a thing and forget why we are doing what we do.

This isn’t a call to mediocrity or sloppiness. You only have to look at the details God gave Moses for how the priests and the ark of the covenant should be adorned to understand that there is no devil in details…it’s of God to be excellent and precise.

No, this is about something more subtle. This is about a shift of priorities. It’s like having a mission statement and then moving beyond the mission. The work may still be good, but why are you doing it?

God Himself is looking for us to worship Him in spirit and in truth. Our Savior didn’t say He was looking for us to worship in songs and in dances. He didn’t say He was looking for us to worship in word and in deed. He didn’t give steps or a process to follow to worship. He said to do it in spirit and in truth.

In Spirit – we must worship from who we are as spiritual beings. We can’t worship with our carnal mind because frankly our carnal mind is too focused on selfish gain –even if that gain is simply to please other people.

In Truth – we offer worship from who we are, entirely. Not just our “church face” or our “Sunday face” but completely. As the pop song says, ‘warts and all.’ We weren’t called to clean up for worship. In actuality, the worship has a cleansing affect. But we are called to bring all that we are to our worship.

If we come to worship from spirit and truth, we have the freedom to worship with all that we do. I may not sing, but I might be the best welder on the planet. My ability to weld well comes from God. I worship Him with my welding.

Worship isn’t performance. Performance is always directed inward and is done to please the doer. It’s not a bad thing. It’s just not worship.

Worship is always outward. Worship is done to please the object or person we’re seeking to exalt. Worship is a gift that seeks no reward. Worship is its own reward.

Are you the one? Are you the one who will choose to worship the Lord in spirit and in truth? Are you the one who will lay down your ambitions, your pride, your priorities and stand before God in wholeness and truth and cry out in praise of who He is and not who you are?

Are you the one who will move through your day recognizing that everything you do, every person you meet, even the very air you breathe is a gift of the God who deserves your worship? Your open, honest, warts and all worship?

Oh, your “Sunday face” might get you there. You might be able to move people with a heartfelt performance. But you won’t move God. And isn’t He the point?

Will you open yourself up to true worship? Will you give up your sense of perfection and take the shackles off your soul and let yourself praise God in the way that gets at how you really feel about Him?

Does your soul pant after God and the Kingdom of God like a thirsty deer? Are you hungry for something that is deeper than the first and third stanzas and a 10 minute sermon? Do you long for a more honest, open relationship with God where you don’t just do the ‘do’s’ and avoid the ‘don’ts’ and go through the motions?

If you’re hungry for more, you might be one on the ones. Worship Him! Worship Him with all that you have. Trust me, there’s more available through Him. You can’t come up short. Don’t hold back. Worship Him. Worship Him in spirit and in truth.

Psalm 42:1-2
As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God.

My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God: when shall I come and appear before God?

Peace.

- Sis. Stephanie Robinson


Lifeline is the evangelistic ministry of Fellowship Church in Jonesboro, GA. Feel free to share this message. For questions or to subscribe to this mailing, send an email to fellowship_lifeline@yahoo.com

Fellowship Church
455 HWY 138 Suite C
Jonesboro, GA 30238
Alton Watkins, Pastor